Skoraeus Stonebones

Skoraeus Stonebones is the deity worshiped by the stone giant race. He is also known as "King of the Rock" and "The Living Rock". His sacred animal is the cave bear. His holy symbol is a stalactite. He manifests as a huge stone giant with muscular limbs and skin like granite. He knows much of the secret banes, magics, and wonders buried in the core of the world. Skoreaus regards both Law and Chaos with suspicion.

Skoraeus is neutral in the affairs of the Jotunbrud as a whole, though he is obsessed with the stone giants in particular and often intervenes in their affairs in order to guide their development. Skoraeus is knowledgeable about banes, magics, and the legends of great treasures buried in the Underdark. His chosen sphere is artistic achievement.

Worshipers

Skoraeus Stonebones

The reclusive Skoraeus is worshiped almost exclusively by stone giants, who may be found in mountains and caves in a variety of places around Azolin, but especially in the remote Crystalmist mountain range in the Glitterpeaks.

Skoraeus's priests wear stone gray vestments, and animal skins. They dominate stone giant society, creating an environment of stifling orthodoxy. They are grave, serious, folk, seeing it as their duty to advance their race and guarantee that stone giants continue to make ever-greater works of art and intellectual discoveries. They avoid, and teach their followers to avoid, even other races of giants, let alone other species. Their favored weapon is the warhammer. They are capable of seeing omens in the shapes and hues of rock and subterranean features, and spend much of their time meditating and creating elaborate sculptures and friezes.

Skoraeus's clerics force any stone giant, even those who have pledged allegiance to other deities, who violates their god's teachings to atone through meditation. Even those who have
pledged their allegiance to other deities tend to follow this custom whenever they are visiting or occupying one of Skoraeus's strongholds just to humor the god's clergy (Failure to obey the custom often brings loud, frequent, and annoying rebukes from the priests.)

Orders

Temples

Rituals

Holy Days

Cave Bear

Once every three months or so, priests of Skoraeus travel underground alone without food, returning four days later. They assure their followers that these expeditions are vision-quests in which Skoraeus supplies them with instructions in the form of omens and dreams.

Relationships

Skoraeus is part of the second generation of giantish gods, born at about the same time as Surtur and Thrym. It is said that his brothers' evil drove him to hide himself below the world and ignore everything apart from himself and his people. When he absolutely has to, he'll deal with the gods of the dwarves and svirfneblin. He is allied with Dumathoin, and has been occasionally known to consort with the gods of the svirfneblin.

History

Myths and Legends

Skoraeus on Azolin

Although he often intervenes in the affairs of the stone giants, Skoraeus dispatches avatars to Azolin only very rarely (stone giant legends speak of Skoraeus occasionally leading stone giants to new homes or fabulous magical treasure). Instead, he prefers to exercise his influence through omens of natural beauty. brightly colored rocks, strange stalactite patterns, and sparkling fountains, that his priests are capable of recognizing and interpreting. In fact, the raw caverns of the Underdark are often alive for Skoraeus. priests, communicating reams of information (location, direction, distance) with their every geographical feature.

Realm

Skoraeus has no permanent home, and wanders the realms of the gods. Skoraeus is sometimes said to dwell at the heart of the world, where he senses all that occurs while touching stone by feeling the vibrations that reach him. Skoraeus will never venture above ground, and cannot even be gated there.

Dogma

Skoraeus cares for nothing except for that which directly concerns his people, the stone giants. Stone giants, as far as he is concerned, would be better off if they never came in contact with other races at all. Skoraeus teaches his followers that beauty is truth and knowledge is power; a secret is the ultimate power and the Underdark is filled with secrets.

Obadai, Avatar of Skoraeus

Symbol of Obadai

Obadai is the immortal avatar of Skoraeus, the primary deity of the stone giants. Though the legends of the Jotun avatars are unproven, the Stone Titans are believed to be the direct disciples or offspring of this being. Legend holds that Obadai made his home in the remote depths of the Underdark. The standing stone, or menhir, is commonly regarded as Obadai's symbol amongst the stone giants.